Reports: Lone holdout juror in Clancy trial says he had no doubts about the evidence presented
By Nicki Brown, Alex Stambaugh
(CNN) — The lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial – accused of having an “agenda” by Clancy’s defense attorney after the seven-week trial ended without a verdict – said in a statement to a media outlet Thursday his views on the Massachusetts mother were misrepresented by his fellow jurors.
“I didn’t have any doubts,” Michael P. Desronvil told NewsNation via a spokesperson. “As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present.”
The Boston Globe said this week it confirmed the identity of Desronvil, 48, through photos published online, court records and an interview with one of his fellow jurors.
The mistrial left Clancy’s future uncertain, as prosecutors have not yet decided whether to pursue a new trial.
In an extraordinary note to the judge on the sixth day of deliberations, the jury foreperson – later identified as Roni Carlson – said Desronvil “has made statements acknowledging doubt, but refuses to apply it to the verdict as the law states,” prompting an unsuccessful request from Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington to have the juror replaced by an alternate.
But in his new statement, Desronvil says he felt all along the evidence pointed to a guilty verdict.
“Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she (Clancy) knew exactly what she was doing and planned,” he said in the statement.
The judge in the case declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury repeatedly said it couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. Clancy’s lawyer argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children – Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months – at the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023.
“There’s one juror who refuses to listen to the law that you’ve given him or her on reasonable doubt,” Reddington told the judge in his attempt to have the juror removed.
Since the mistrial was declared, several other jurors who were leaning towards finding Clancy not guilty due to lack of criminal responsibility have given interviews describing frustrating conversations inside the deliberation room.
“There was times he wouldn’t engage, like he’d be scrolling on his phone while people were talking to him, things like that,” juror Nick Dargie told ABC News.
“He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children,” juror Kellie Farina told NBC10 Boston.
During the weekslong trial, Clancy acknowledged she killed her three children, but her lawyers argued she should not be held criminally responsible because she was in the midst of a psychotic episode when she fatally strangled them and attempted suicide.
The panel, comprised of nine women and three men, was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after more than 38 hours of deliberations. The jurors sent notes to the court indicating they were split 11 to 1, with the majority at one point alleging the lone holdout was unable to follow the law on reasonable doubt. The judge ultimately declared a mistrial.
Carlson told NBC10 there was no doubt Clancy killed her children, but said it was also obvious to jurors that she loved them.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office previously declined to comment on reports about the juror identities. Clancy is due back in court for a hearing on September 29 as prosecutors determine whether to seek a retrial.
In a statement on X, lawyer Edward Andrew Paltzik said he was representing the holdout juror, writing “please pray for him and help us protect him,” without identifying the man.
“He is presently safe and sound at an undisclosed secure location in a rural area of Northern New England,” Paltzik wrote.
“Rest assured that the evil people who have so viciously attacked this American Hero and Champion of Justice will be held accountable to the maximum extent of the law and beyond,” the statement added, describing the man as a devoted father and man of God.
CNN has reached out to Paltzik for more information and whether any legal action is being taken on behalf of the juror.
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